Live Your Values

We are all familiar with the saying:

“The Ends Justify The Means”

How you get to the end result is immaterial, irrelevant and not important to the fact the result was obtained.

That paradigm is corrupt. It lacks morality, integrity, and respect.

The paradigm I resonate with is:

“The Ends are Justifiable BY the means”

This worldview turns it all on its head. HOW we get to where we want to go, the actions taken, the resources used, the process undertaken IS of paramount importance and justifies the ends obtained. I find this approach to be moral, respectful and holding integrity.

As consumers, we can take this paradigm into the marketplace. We can vote with our dollars. Tens of millions of us are doing this every day. What we choose to consume and who we choose to consume it from, speaks to the values we hold.

Take this mindset and apply it to the devastation taking place in the Gulf of Mexico and the habitats within and around the Gulf.  Our consumption of fossil fuels has consequences. How every drop of oil is obtained is of paramount importance. The means matter. While BP has the responsibility to stop the leak and clean up the ecological devastation that is unfolding- I too have a responsibility as a consumer to the fact I consume this substance. I question the longterm consequences to continuing to grasp onto this paradigm.

The less I use, the more our grandchildren will have available to them. The less I use, the less demand there is to pump the oil from areas that pose risk to the natural systems that deserve to remain unspoiled. This is not leaving the world a better place. Turning the page to start a post fossil fuel chapter of human existence is an end that is in need of means that can justify it.